Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Slovenia (Ratification: 1992)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. National action plan. The Committee takes due note of the detailed information provided by the Government, in its report, on the initiatives undertaken by the Interministerial Working Group for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (IWG THB) within the framework of the 2021–2022 and 2023–2024 Action Plans for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. It notes that systematic and long-term awareness-raising campaigns on the dangers of trafficking in persons were conducted for the broader public and high-risk groups of potential trafficking victims, including for children in primary and secondary schools, in the Roma Community, and among Ukrainian refugees. It also notes that a wide range of trainings and seminars on detection and protection of victims of trafficking as well as on investigation procedures were carried out for law enforcement officials and that a new National Coordinator for Trafficking in Human Beings was appointed.

The Committee further notes that, as with the previous plan, the new Action Plan adopted for 2025–2026 is divided into six sections which outline specific tasks, the responsible entities and the timeframes relating to: prevention; detection, investigation and prosecution of human trafficking crimes; identification, protection and assistance to victims; international cooperation; systemic improvements and legislative proposals; and coordination and support activities. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to combat trafficking in persons, both for labour and sexual exploitation, and to ensure the effective implementation of the six components of the Action Plan for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken in this regard, the results achieved, and any assessments under taken.

2. Identification and protection of victims. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the amendments made to the Foreigners Act, the Residence Registration Act and the Criminal Procedure Act. These amendments introduce new grounds authorizing victims of trafficking to stay in Slovenia for a period of 90 days; facilitate the determination of legal residence for the purpose of obtaining temporary residence permits; and provide victims with the necessary information about their rights and protection. The Government also indicates that assistance for victims is provided under specific programmes financed by the Government and implemented by NGOs selected through public tenders, namely "Assistance to victims of trafficking in human beings – Crisis accommodation” and the "Assistance to victims of trafficking in human beings – Safe accommodation” which provide accommodation for persons who have been identified by the police as victims or presumed victims of trafficking. The Committee notes from the Annual reports of the IWG THB of 2022 and 2023 that the “Crisis Accommodation Programme” provide comprehensive and immediate assistance for up to 30 days to victims of trafficking removed from a harmful environment, which includes food and accommodation, emergency medical and psycho-social aid, counselling, legal aid, interpreting, protection and safety and repatriation assistance. In 2022 and 2023, eleven victims of trafficking, including eight women and three minors, were placed and accommodated in crisis accommodation and subsequently included in the “Safe accommodation” programme which provides longer term assistance. In addition, the “Reintegration of victims of trafficking in human Beings” project has also benefited eight victims of trafficking in 2022 and ten in 2023, including nine Slovenian nationals, who were provided psycho-social support, assistance and support with paperwork, for studying, job search and other counselling activities under the Reintegration project. The Committee encourages the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure that all victims of trafficking in persons for sexual or labour exploitation are properly identified and provided with appropriate protection and assistance for their recovery and rehabilitation and requests the Government to continue to provide information in this regard, including details of the victims, the type of assistance and services granted, and the compensation received.

3. Law enforcement and penalties. The Committee notes the Government’s information that section 113 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes trafficking in human beings, was amended in January 2023 to include begging and practices similar to slavery as forms of exploitation under the definition of trafficking in human beings. The Government indicates that the labour inspectorate as well as the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia, pay particular attention to the issues of labour exploitation and forced labour, especially of migrant workers. The Government also indicates that in the procedures of identifying potential victims of trafficking for forced labour, the Police cooperate closely with the labour inspectorate and the Financial Administration. The trend in combating trafficking in human beings has continued over the years, with the police still most frequently identifying the exploitation of victims for prostitution and sexual abuse, while other form of exploitation of victims are less frequently identified (forced labour, forced criminal activity, servitude). The Committee also notes the Government’s information that “Guidelines for Labour Inspectors on the Identification of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings”, designed to help labour inspectors to detect and identify victims of trafficking for labour exploitation, was published in 2022. In this regard, a series of training activities and workshops for labour inspectors on identification, referral and protection of victims of trafficking for labour exploitation as well as training activities for Financial Administration and Mobile Units were carried out.

According to the Annual Report of the IWG THB of 2023, the police dealt with a total of 74 suspected criminal offences of trafficking in persons in 2023, involving 21 victims and 60 potential victims of trafficking (compared to 5 victims and 14 potential victims in 2022). The Police confirmed 25 criminal offences of trafficking and filed criminal complaints with the State Prosecutor Office. All the victims were women who were exploited for prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse. In addition, during 2023, the Specialised State Prosecutor's Office filed one request for an investigation into the criminal offence of trafficking in persons and three indictments under section 113 of the Criminal Code. For the third consecutive year, the courts did not issue any convictions for this offence, with three acquittals being handed down.

The Committee notes that, in its third report of June 2023 on Slovenia’s implementation of the Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, the Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human beings (GRETA) expressed its concern at the low number of convictions for human trafficking and the absence of convictions for trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation. GRETA also noted that no victims of trafficking has received compensation from the perpetrators through criminal or civil proceedings nor from the State under the Crime Victims Compensation Act. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and cooperation of the law enforcement bodies so as to ensure that evidence is collected and that perpetrators of trafficking in persons for both sexual and labour exploitation are prosecuted and punished. It requests the Government to continue to provide information in this regard, including on the number of investigations and prosecutions carried out in cases of trafficking in persons, or any other form of labour exploitation amounting to forced labour; the number of convictions handed down and penalties imposed; and the compensation ordered to victims of trafficking, in accordance with the Compensation to Crime Victims Act.